We are very pleased to be supporting the Village in their work to acquire a City-owned parcel for an encampment. At Council on September 19th we passed the first reading of the Shelter Crisis Ordinance, which will receive its second reading October 3rd. In the meantime, we’re going to urge this Council Committee to lock in an address!

You can sign up for both Open Forum and Agenda Item 3, which is the first item of the day. We’d suggest keeping Open Forum comments general, concerning the need to assign City-owned land to unsheltered communities. Then on Agenda Item 3, please speak specifically about the Village’s contributions to West and North Oakland, and how they should be allowed to do their thing so that not-yet-housed folks can have a place to stabilize and flourish while they look for jobs and permanent housing. Here’s the City Administrator’s report for our Agenda Item.

You are invited to spend an evening with Aura Tegría Cristancho, U’wa indigenous woman lawyer, who is an integral force in the protections of indigenous rights and forests in Colombia.

The U’wa consider themselves the guardians of their sacred ancestral homeland. In accordance with their natural laws, for centuries they have successfully defended their territory high in the Andean cloud forests. The U’wa have resisted conquistadors, missionaries, colonists, and, more recently, the oil industry, guerrillas, the military and paramilitary groups active in the region. A testament to the strength of their traditional leaders, the U’wa have survived these aggressions with their language, culture and a large area of their ancestral territories still intact.

Aura Tegría Cristancho is a young indigenous lawyer from Colombia’s U’wa Nation. Since late 2013, she has served as the legal advisor to the U’wa Association of Traditional Authorities and Councils (ASOU’WA). During her tenure, Aura has been central to a number of important advances made by the U’wa people in the defense of their ancestral territory, like their successful shutdown of a natural gas exploration platform, called Magallanes, which was constructed within their ancestral territory in early 2014. Through nonviolent protest, international advocacy, media campaigns, and direct negotiations with the government, the U’wa were able to stop the project in its tracks and by early 2015 the platform had been dismantled. Throughout this process, Aura served as a liaison with Colombian and international allies, and a spokesperson before international media outlets and the government. Aura has served as an international ambassador for the U’wa, participating in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2014 and 2016 and traveling to Washington, DC to meet with human rights lawyers at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which formally admitted the U’wa case in late 2015 in large part due to Aura’s diligent work. Aura is a leading voice in the growing movement for indigenous-led conservation and the protection of sacred natural areas, including Mt. Zizuma, the Uwa’s sacred mountain threatened by tourism.

Doors will be opening at 6pm to WOMEN of the community only. This is an opportunity for our women to connect with, be empowered by and listen to the wisdom of Aura on perseverance through these times, as women warriors.

At 7pm doors will then open to the general public to hear Aura speak from a panel to share their work and accomplishments, and also to let us be inspired to see ways that both men and women can empower each other, as we are all needed to create a strong front in the many ways we resist. Questions for our guest will be open after the panel.

For any indigenous women attending there will be an opportunity for treaty signing of the Indigenous Women of the Americas Defending Mother Earth Treaty. For more information on the treaty and what it means to be a treaty signer please visit www.IndigenousWomenRising.org or for recent events and updates the Facebook page is Indigenous Women of the Americas Defending Mother Earth Treaty

We also appreciate any volunteers who would be willing and able to help us clean up the tables and put away chairs after this event! We’re very excited to share this delegation with the Bay Area community and look forward to seeing you on September 26!!

This public working meeting of the External Organizing Committee is a chance for members to do the work of running our outward-facing campaigns, building our district canvassing program, and recruiting new members. Everyone is welcome regardless of skills or experience!

Want to get involved with SURJ Bay Area? Come learn about our current work and activities. You’ll also hear about SURJ’s new pathways for entering the work, including Study and Action groups as well as committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. We’ll answer your questions and share how you can get involved in the movement for racial justice.
Getting Into the Lobby:
The doors for the Sierra Club building lock right at 7pm, so please do your best to arrive prior to 7pm. We will have someone stationed at the Webster entrance to the building until 7:15 for late arrivals. If you arrive after 7pm, please use the Webster entrance.

Accessibility:
Building Accessibility: There are two entrances to Sierra Club Office building on Webster and 21st both of which are accessible for mobility devices. The building has an elevator, and the kitchen space, conference room, and restrooms can also all accommodate mobility devices.

Scents: The Sierra Club’s space endeavors to offer a scent free environment; however as the Club is currently transitioning towards the use of only scent free products, we cannot guarantee an entirely scent free space. We ask everyone to please arrive at meetings fragrance free to support access for folks who experience multiple chemical sensitivities and allergies. This means using only body products and laundry detergent that say “fragrance free” or “unscented” on the label and do not have scented ingredients.

Restrooms: Restrooms are currently labeled in a gender-binary way. The Sierra Club is working on changing this and has an office policy that all restrooms are available to anyone, regardless of lived or perceived gender identity. We ask that folks choose the restroom that is right for them, and that no one question a person’s chosen restroom.

A wireless mesh network is a network where each computer acts as a relay to other computers, such that a network can stretch to cover entire cities.

Last Tuesdays of the month are general orientation meetings for new volunteers. (The first three Tuesdays of the month are open hacknights – we stay focused! )

Our goal is to create a wireless mesh network that is owned and operated by the community.

Want to help create an alternate means of digital communication that isn’t governed by for-profit internet service providers? We need people with both technical and non-technical backgrounds to help with everything from local community involvement and crowdfunding to mounting wifi routers on buildings and developing software!

The Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board will hear from Attorney General Becerra and will discuss the outline and content for their first annual report on racial and identity profiling by law enforcement.

The RIPA Board was established for one simple reason; the people of California demanded it. Now we need to turn up and hold the RIPA Board & Attorney General accountable to ensure the collection and analysis of law enforcement data to eliminate racial and identify profiling in policing. For more background about RIPA and its members, talking points, and to get a copy of our outreach flyer click here.

Please spread the word and join supporters of AB 953: The Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015 on September 27, share your personal experience, and tell AG Becerra what you think needs to be done to stop racial profiling.

Members of the Trump administration have raised the specter of a Muslim registry and instituted an immigration ban against people from Muslim majority countries, citing the unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II as precedent for its actions. (Social Action Media.) The Appreciating Diversity Film Series will present the powerful 2017 documentary “And Then They Came for Us” – a film by Bay area filmmakers Abby Ginzberg and Ken Schneider which demonstrates that the registration and incarceration of Japanese American was one of the worst violations of constitutional rights in American History, and features Japanese Americans who survived that experience speaking out today.

As a result of President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1942 Executive Order 9066, approximately 120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry were evicted from their homes son the West Coast of of the United States and held in American internment camps and other confinement sites across the country.

Over two-thirds of the people of Japanese ethnicity that were incarcerated were American citizens. Many of the rest had lived in the country 20 to 40 years. Most Japanese Americans, particularly the first generation born in the United States (the nisei), considered themselves loyal to the United States. No Japanese American citizen or Japanese national residing in the United States was ever found guilty of sabotage or espionage. The film features interviews with George Takei and others who were incarcerated, and stunning photos by Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams. It’s a moving film you won’t soon forget.

Following the screening in Piedmont, there will be a panel discussion features Dianne Fukami, an award-winning documentary and television producer and a member of the U.S. – Japan Council, and Piedmont resident Don Tamaki, who served on the pro bono legal team that reopened the landmark Supreme Court case of “Korematsu v. the United States”.

On Wednesday night, Oil Money Out is hosting an O$O Advocacy Training Webinar for environmental leaders throughout California who are determined to get oil money out of politics. Learn how to make your voice heard in Sacramento and conduct effective meetings with legislators. Sign up for the Webinar here.

Over the next few months, Oil Money Out will be working with communities throughout the state to set up meetings with legislators and demand that all of our elected officials stop taking money from Big Oil and start prioritizing public health over industry profits. Let’s make this campaign a success!

Please help spread the word about the Training Webinar and share our livestream of the training on Facebook. Here’s what you can do to help:

RSVP for the Facebook event and invite your friends and colleagues. And please share our Facebook Livestream to your Facebook page and in your Facebook Groups as soon as we go live.

American Friends Service Committee, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, and San Francisco Friends Meeting and suppporters observed the occasion with their weekly 12-1pm vigil rain or shine every Thursday at 450 Golden Gate, the Federal Building.

Why We Vigil

For five years we have stood on this corner every Thursday from noon to 1:00. We come because we believe that what our government is doing is wrong. The so-called war on terror is a disaster, doing more to stimulate the growth of terrorism around the world than to keep our country safe.

We believe justice is the way to a terror-free world. We urge the United States to devote our resources to things that help humanity. Rather than investing in armaments, destruction and death, this country should be working to see that nobody in the world is starving or without shelter, clothing, education and medical care.

We say: Stop the war
Stop the torture
Bring the troops home now
Defend civil liberties
PRACTICE NONVIOLENCE

We believe in the American dream. We believe that the only way to live the American dream is with nonviolence. Please join us to stand against all war and to pray for all victims of war.

Please stand with us.

We have stood on this corner every Thursday since October 2001. We come to say NO to war and to speak up for nonviolence. All in agreement are invited to vigil with us.

This vigil was started by two Quaker groups–American Friends Service Committee and San Francisco Friends Meeting. They have been joined by Buddhist Peace Fellowship and Episcopal Peace Fellowship. Participants come from a range of backgrounds. Some of us are silent, praying or meditating. Others do not keep silence and are happy to speak with you.

Join us for Closing Night of Temescal Street Flicks 2017! Presented by Community Bank of the Bay, our series closes with three thought provoking and insightful short films that are relevant to our current times.

**Please Note: All filmmakers & a few film participants will be in attendance for a short Q&A immediately following the viewing of all short films. Please join us for this engaging & thoughtful discussion!**

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 – SHORTS NIGHT FINALE LINEUP INCLUDES:

FEATURED SHORT:
SIN PAIS (Without Country) by Theo Rigby. 19 min. With intimate access and striking imagery, Sin País (Without Country) is a short film about a family as they are fractured by deportation. Sin País begins two weeks before Sam and Elida’s scheduled deportation date. After a passionate fight to keep the family together, Sam and Elida are deported and take Dulce with them back to Guatemala. Sin País explores the complexities of the Mejia’s new reality of a separated family–parents without their children, and children without their parents.

SECOND FEATURED SHORT:
BEYOND RECOGNITION by Michelle Grace Steinberg. 24 min. After decades struggling to protect her ancestors’ burial places, now engulfed by San Francisco’s sprawl, a Native woman from a non-federally recognized Ohlone tribe and her allies occupy a sacred site to prevent its desecration. When this life-altering event fails to stop the development, they vow to follow a new path- to establish the first women-led urban Indigenous land trust. Beyond Recognition explores the quest to preserve one’s culture and homeland in a society bent on erasing them.

FINAL FEATURED SHORT:
WOMEN’S MARCH by Mischa Hedges. 30 min. WOMEN’S MARCH is a story about democracy, human rights, and what it means to stand up for your values in America today. On January 21, 2017, hundreds of thousands of women marched on Washington, DC. That same day, hundreds of sister marches took place across the country and around the world. On location in San Francisco, Oakland, Boston, and Washington D.C., this short film explores several women’s motivation to march. For some people, it was their first time marching. For others, it was the continuation of a decades-long fight for human rights, dignity, and justice. For all, it was an opportunity to make their voices heard.
It grew into the largest one-day protest in American history.

Marking 2 decades of front line action for the wild buffalo, the Buffalo Field Campaign 2017 Roadshow is coming to the Bay Area with a special 20th anniversary presentation. Co-founder Mike Mease brings engaging stories and films straight from the field, in the land of the buffalo, with music by Native American flutist Mignon Geli and special guests. This event benefits BFC.

The mission of BFC is to stop the harassment and slaughter of Yellowstone’s last wild buffalo herds; protect the natural habitat of wild, free-roaming buffalo and other native wildlife; and work with all people—especially Indigenous Nations—to honor and protect the sacredness of the wild buffalo.

Volunteers from around the world spend every day, sunrise to sunset, monitoring and documenting threats to the buffalo, running patrols on skis and snowshoes to defend buffalo in their traditional habitat. BFC is the only group working in the field, every day, to stop the slaughter and harassment of the last wild buffalo.

“We envision a world in which buffalo and all other native wildlife are allowed to exist for their own sake, are given priority on public lands, and herds are allowed to maintain self-regulating, sustainable populations.” says BFC. For more info: 510-548-3113; bach [at] headwaterspreserve.org

Sponsored by BFUU SJC, Earth First! and the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters

For Banned Books Week (Sep. 24-30, 2017), the ACLU of Northern California is organizing a series of free events reflecting on the life and work of Fred Korematsu and the importance of speaking out against forces that would seek to silence and censor you.

Fred Korematsu defied the government’s WWII orders that Japanese Americans be forcibly relocated from their homes and incarcerated in camps. The ACLU-NC represented Korematsu in his battle for justice all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Today, the lessons of Fred Korematsu’s life are all the more important. Over the next week, Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi will hold a series of events for their new children’s book, Fred Korematsu Speaks Up, which tells the story of Fred Korematsu and the imprisonment of Japanese Americans, and links his fight against injustice to other groups who also spoke out against those who threatened their rights.

With politicians citing the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans as a precedent for a Muslim registry, Fred Korematsu’s story of defiance is particularly relevant for all people in America, especially youth, to understand.

Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi Authors of Fred Korematsu Speaks Up

Fred Korematsu defied the government’s WWII orders that all Japanese Americans leave the west coast to be incarcerated. The ACLU of Northern California represented Korematsu all the way to the Supreme Court.

Now, when the lessons of Fred Korematsu’s life are even more important to remember, Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi will speak about their new book for children, Fred Korematsu Speaks Up, which tells the story of Fred Korematsu and the imprisonment of Japanese Americans, linking that injustice to the struggles of other groups.

With politicians citing the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans as a precedent for a Muslim registry, Fred Korematsu’s story of defiance is especially relevant now for all people in America, especially young ones, to understand.

The Alameda County Paul Robeson Chapter and the Berkeley/North East Bay Chapter of the ACLU-NC are proud to co-sponsor this event! Chapter Board members will lead the event with a 10-minutes overview and Q&A of current ACLU-NC activities.

Laura Atkins is a children’s book author and editor who grew up in an activist family and participated in social justice work herself, with a focus on diversity and equity in children’s books. She taught creative writing at the National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature (NCRCL) in London, where she also received her M.A. in children’s literature. She received an M.F.A. in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Stan Yogi is the coauthor, with Elaine Elinson, of Wherever There’s a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California. He managed development programs for the ACLU of Northern California for fourteen years.

FED UP with trash, potholes, and a City government that doesn’t care?
CONCERNED about the sex trade, homelessness, rising rents and home prices that people can’t afford?
READY to make East Oakland neighborhoods and schools better for your family and your neighbors?
Come join neighbors from all over East Oakland to work for the changes WE want!

To commemorate the September 30, 1991 coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide that killed thousands of people and filled Haiti’s prisons;
To honor beloved sister and friend of Haiti, Lori Nairne;
In solidarity with Haitians presently being incarcerated and killed as they rise up against the imposed regime of Jovenel Moise.

Updates from Pelican Bay and from Haiti will follow the performance
with more music from Fred

In Solitary Man, Charlie travels to Crescent City to visit a lifer named Otis Washington, a 64 year old native of New York City, who’s been imprisoned since 1975 and at Pelican Bay since it opened in 1989. To quote Otis, “There are people who say they have no regrets in life, and if they had to do it all over again, they wouldn’t change a thing. Well, I’m just the opposite. Ignorance guided me to this present predicament. Over the decades I’ve worked hard to better myself and recover from my raggedy past.” In Solitary Man, Otis explains some of what he has learned and experienced.
About Fred and Charlie:

Fred is a formerly incarcerated person that has gone on to address the human rights issues of drug users and formerly incarcerated persons, as well as the wider community, guided by harm reduction principles. He has worked in a variety of settings, including policy analysis and syringe access programs throughout the US. He plays trumpet, mostly in the New York City area, and has recorded a CD History Speaking: A Tribute to My Mentors.

Charles grew up in Joplin, MO and spent 3 years in the Peace Corps in Bolivia. He attended the founding meeting of Bay Area Gay Liberation in 1975, and through BAGL, began his work around prison matters. He worked for 19 years at Inkworks Press, a collectively owned and managed printing company in Berkeley that closed its doors in 2015, leaving him “retired.” Besides writing and visiting prisoners, Charlie works with Haiti Action Committee, the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Committee to End Sleep Deprivation, and the Committee to Free DeWayne Ewing. Solitary Man is Charlie’s second theatrical endeavor, after his solo show Life Wish. He is the author of Life Wish: Essays, Letters, Songs, Solo Performance, Haiku written over time.

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